Thursday, January 19th, 2012
On January 6, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was proposing a regulatory change that would allow spouses and children of U.S. citizens who are in the United States but need an immigrant waiver of unlawful presence bar to apply for the waiver within the United States.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, January 19th, 2012
On December 30, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) issued Operational Bulletin 373 (“OB 373”). OB 373 provides additional information relating to the Excessive Demand Cost Threshold (the “Demand Threshold”) for 2012, which became effective on December 1, 2011.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, December 15th, 2011
On December 7, 2011, US President Obama and Canada’s Prime Minister Harper released their Beyond the Border Action Plan, which discusses their shared vision for perimeter security. In furtherance of this objective, the plan proposes several immigration-related initiatives.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, November 17th, 2011
The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration recently issued a fourth set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-4), which came into force on November 5, 2011. According to MI-4, the Federal Skilled Worker program will now have a new eligibility stream for international students pursuing doctoral (PhD) studies at Canadian institutions. This adds an additional 1,000 numbers to the current cap of 10,000, which are available to FSW applicants who do not have arranged employment.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, November 17th, 2011
On November 5, 2011, a temporary pause (i.e., a moratorium) was imposed on the sponsorship of parents and grandparents under the Family Class. However, to temper the effect of this decision, the Government of Canada has announced that it will increase the number of sponsored parents and grandparents that Canada will admit next year, from nearly 15,500 in 2010, to 25,000 in 2012, in order to clear out the existing backlog. It will also introduce a Parent and Grandparent Super Visa, which will allow parents and grandparents to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time. Parent and Grandparent Super Visa applicants will be required to obtain private Canadian healthcare insurance for their stay in Canada but the visas will be valid for up to 10 years.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, October 20th, 2011
On September 19, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada published Operational Bulletin 346, which authorized the recapture of unused time that would otherwise count against the time limits that are normally imposed on intracompany transferees. As a result of Operational Bulletin 346, now only periods of physical presence in Canada while holding an intracompany transferee work permit will count towards the time limits.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, September 16th, 2011
Most Ontario residents are already aware of the recent controversy that has brought immigration to the forefront of the upcoming provincial election. It started with the Ontario Liberal pledge to offer tax credits of up to $10,000.00 to employers who hire new immigrants in Ontario who have been here for five years or less. Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak responded by calling it an “affirmative action” program.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, August 18th, 2011
The Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) between Canada and Colombia was originally signed on November 21, 2008. However, it did not come into force until August 15, 2011. As in the case of other FTAs, the Canada-Colombia FTA contains provisions for the temporary entry of treaty nationals pursuant to Section 204 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. These provisions appear in “Chapter 12 – Temporary Entry for Business Persons.”
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, July 21st, 2011
On July 4, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) issued Operational Bulletin 316 (the “Bulletin”). The Bulletin contains additional instructions regarding the assessment criteria that should be considered when adjudicating specialized knowledge intracompany transferee work permit applications.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Legislation cracking down on crooked immigration consultants (Bill C-35) comes into force on June 30, 2011. At the same time, the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) is confirmed as the new regulatory body for immigration consultants. The ICCRC will…
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, June 16th, 2011
The Ontario Bar Association Citizenship and Immigration Section recently met with representatives of Opportunities Ontario, the province’s Provincial Nominee Program (“PNP”). During this meeting, they provided insight into the level of recruitment activities that would be expected from an employer who files a PNP application on behalf of a prospective employee.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, June 3rd, 2011
This case is a stunning example of mistreatment of migrant workers: a live-in nanny recently launched a wrongful dismissal claim against her employer in the Ontario Superior Court seeking damages in the amount of $195,000 for breach of contract, unpaid wages, statutory holiday pay and vacation pay.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, May 19th, 2011
During the recent Canadian Bar Association Citizenship and Immigration Conference in Gatineau, Quebec, representatives of the Central Intake Office (“CIO”) in Sydney, Nova Scotia, provided some helpful insight into its processing of Federal Skilled Worker (“FSW”) applications. The CIO screens all FSW applications in order to verify that submitted applications satisfy the Ministerial Instructions, which currently restrict who can apply under the FSW class.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
More and more organizations are asking the question: “What are the responsibilities associated with managing a travelling workforce?” This question has been increasingly relevant as of late, with a number of Canadian companies taking notice of the recent events in Egypt, Libya, and Japan.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, April 25th, 2011
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has updated its H-1B cap count for the current fiscal year. As of April 15, 2011, approximately 7,100 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 5,100 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced (master’s or higher) degrees from the United States.
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Leslie D Foreman:Andrew Taillon:
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